It's Your Turn
by courderouge2006
Summary: After being shot and regaining his powers, Clark is most shocked by the reaction he gets from Lois. Looking back, a lot of things start to fall into place, and he makes his choice. Now, it's up to her. Seasons 4 & 5, spoilers & some changes. I own nothing


This was bouncing around my head, decided to write it out. Set in normal Smallville, seasons 4 and 5. Some things are changed. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to review.

--

Tossing a hay bale onto the truck, Clark had to smile a little. As much as he told himself he just wanted to be normal, he did enjoy having his powers back. Deep down he knew it was better to be able to use the powers to help people than to try to hide himself in a normal life.

Grabbing another hay bale, he tossed it over the side of the truck and was moving to get the next when something suddenly grabbed a hold of him. Looking down, he saw Lois, her arms wrapped around him and squeezing him tightly. Even with his powers he could swear he felt his ribs hitch together. "Uh, Lois? What's going on?"

She pulled away, wiping at her face quickly. "Nothing, nothing. I just… I heard the rumors about you and your lack of a Kevlar vest, and your hero complex getting in the way again." Her hands were pushing his shirt up, and she looked at the bandage covering the "wound" in his stomach that his parents thought was a good idea to keep his cover intact. "How are you already up and moving? This is crazy Clark, you should be in bed, recovering."

Clark felt his skin tingle as she kept moving her fingers over his abs. He reached down and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm fine Lois. It was just through and through. Managed to miss everything important. Guess I was just lucky." He shrugged, giving her the infamous Kent grin.

She looked up at him, and he could see in her face she had more that she wanted to say, but she just hugged him again. "Just… don't do that again ok? You even had me worried, I'd hate to think what it did to your mom or dad or someone who actually cared about you. You know?" She stepped back, sniffling, and rushed out of the barn.

Clark stood there in shock. Had Lois just shown actual concern about him? She knew he was alright obviously, she came here to the farm to find him, but she was beside herself almost. Clark shook his head, trying to make sense of it. "Ok, that's just crazy. Lois isn't concerned about me." She was probably more worried about Chloe and he just caught some of the leftovers from her yearly ration of concern.

He started to grab another hay bale, but his mind shifted. He remembered feeling her fingers around the bandage. And when she hugged him goodbye he felt the smooth skin of her stomach against his. The smell of her hair. Her breath against his ear. Clark's breathing grew heavier and he was slipping into a dangerous train of thought. Smooth skin sliding over his. Ragged breaths in his ear. He heard his name called, again and again. "Clark… Clark…"

"CLARK!"

He snapped out of it and looked around, seeing his dad standing across the barn near the door. "Yea dad, what's up?"

Jonathan gave him a funny look, and then just pointed up. Clark followed the gesture and noticed one of the support struts in the roof was on fire. "Oh crap." Rushing up the stairs and across the beam, Clark knelt down and patted the fire out with his hands. Dropping back down to the floor of the barn, he looked back at his dad, trying to look nonchalant. "Sorry dad, it was an accident."

Jonathan raised his eyebrow. "An accident? You haven't had one of those… 'accidents' since you learned how to use that power. What set it off?"

Clark grunted, moving back to the hay bales. "It was nothing, just an accident dad."

Jonathan stared at his son as he walked back toward the truck, and then he looked back toward the house, something clicking. He smiled, chuckling to himself. "Oh this should be good." Pulling his gloves on, he made his way toward Clark. "You know son, part of properly using a skill is to keep practicing at it. Do you need to train some more with the heat vision?"

"It's fine dad, really."

"Well, it just doesn't hurt to stay on top of things. We can set up a couple of scarecrows in the pasture again…"

"Dad. It's fine. Let it go."

Jonathan chuckled to himself. "Well, if you don't need to keep training, then something must have affected you pretty strongly. Do we need to have a talk son?"

Clark rushed into super speed to finish stacking the bales and was gone before his dad's hand touched the air where his shoulder had been moments ago. Jonathan looked around the barn and just smiled. It was still fun to push his son's buttons.

--

Clark sat up on the ridge overlooking the pond at the back of the Kent Farm. He hadn't been able to think straight all day since the… incident. Lois showed concern for him. She had looked absolutely frightened at the mention of his being shot.

Granted, he and Lois were always giving each other trouble, but they got along well enough. And they'd helped each other now and then. Ok, they helped each other a lot. She pulled him out of the Kryptonite fueled plastic surgeon's office, he pulled her out of the storm drains Geoff Johns left her to drown in.

Clark shifted, something not feeling right inside. Why did the idea of Lois drowning seem to hurt so much more right now than it used to? Yea it had scared him back then, but now that he thought about it again… Clark felt like he was going to puke.

Ok, so maybe Lois had some good points. She was dependable, and when she cared she did so with gusto, never holding back. While he was trying to keep the meteor shower from wiping Smallville off the face of the Earth, Lois had been helping his father find his mom in the rubble of their house. Even when she didn't know him and just found him naked in a cornfield when he had no memory, she had stuck by him until he was safe.

Laying back in the grass and staring at the sky, Clark had to laugh at some of the more… memorable moments they had together. The first time she got him busted when she barged into the bathroom when he was taking a shower. When she brought Shelby home and they argued over the name… Clarkie didn't actually sound that bad after he thought about it. It would be one of the few times he got to hear her use his real name at least. Even the situation with Lucy had made him feel closer to her, he had been able to see behind the shield for once and he got a glimpse of the real Lois.

Images of her in the pink prom dress popped into his mind and he had to laugh. She did look beautiful, even if it wasn't exactly her color. And he had asked her to dance. He really wanted a dance with her. But she passed him off to Lana. Just then Clark finally realized that the feeling he had dancing with Lana wasn't because of nervousness from all their past issues. He felt… sad because apparently Lois didn't want to dance with him.

Clark sat up on the hill suddenly, his eyes bugging out. "Oh god… I… I like Lois!"

--

Jonathan had just finished spreading the last of the hay. Pulling his gloves off, he wiped at his forehead with his sleeve. A whoosh behind him told him Clark was back. "Hey son, good of you to show up now that the work's done." Turning around with a smile, his grin faded as he saw the look on his son's face.

"Dad… do you think we can we talk?"

Jonathan smiled and patted his son on the back. "Seeing through walls and shooting fire with your eyes, I might not have a lot of experience with those son. But this… you've come to the right place. Let's head back."

--

Clark was at the lake with his friends, taking some time to just relax after all the drama and tension surrounding his shooting and getting his powers back. He came with Lana but that situation was… tense. Her obsession with the meteor showers and her renewed "partnership" with Lex wasn't helping much at all.

And if he was completely honest with himself, neither was the fact he hadn't been able to take his eyes off of Lois in that red and black bikini. He was waiting for her to come up from her last dive but she hadn't surface yet. Clark was already on the move, running for the lake before Chloe had to bring it to his attention.

But his attempted rescue was broken up by this new guy, someone who apparently could move faster than he could in the water. And Lois was making eyes at this new guy.

Clark didn't realize he was growling softly until Lana asked if he was feeling ok.

--

He made it into the Windgate with Lex's borrowed pass. Clark felt uncomfortable in here admittedly, but he could definitely see the allure. After ordering his coke… on the rocks… he sat back and started using his hearing to look for any clues to prove that his dad's friend wasn't involved in that girl's death.

That plan went out the window when he saw the dancer on stage.

"Lois."

After her dance was done, Clark was hoping he could get his lungs to start working again. For someone who was indestructible, he felt like he was fighting for air watching her on stage. Just when he thought he was in the clear she made her way over towards him and gave him a lap dance as cover while they discussed a plan. Well, she discussed and he sat there trying not to let it become too apparent what effect her body was having on his body.

"_Kill me. Kill me now. Just do it Jor-El, I can't last much longer like this."_

When it ended and she told him to slip her a $20 bill and meet her out back, he started looking for the sweet release of Kryptonite.

"_It's never around when I need it, damn!"_

--

He stood out in the cold night air. His father had won the Senatorial race a week ago and since then it had been a flurry of appearances and press conferences. Clark wasn't fond of the posing and publicity, but he was proud of his father.

A lot had changed over the winter. He finally cut his ties to Lana, letting her throw herself into her life with Lex studying the meteor showers. School was going pretty good, he was considering declaring a minor in journalism to get a few classes in while he worked on his business degree to help the farm run better.

And he finally came to terms with the fact he was head over heels in love with Lois Lane.

He didn't know how it started. He just knew it happened. Every little touch of her hand on his skin, every jibe she aimed at him, every whiff of her hair dropped his heart into his stomach. It took everything he had to act as normal as possible around her. And more than once he had to excuse himself and speed halfway across the continent to keep from using his x-ray vision to get a little better peek at her in some revealing outfit.

And now he stood on the balcony of the latest mansion at the latest party they had to attend. Looking out over the garden, he could see Lois chatting with some suave, polished, up tight politician wanna be who looked like he had a pretty big stick shoved right up his… Clark forced himself to calm down and walked away from the balcony to head back inside.

No one would notice the hand-shaped dents in the metal railing of the balcony until a week later.

--

Sitting in his loft, Clark shut the laptop, sighing happily. He had just finished his last term paper for the semester and he was glad to be done. Stretching his back, he stood and looked through the window of the loft, seeing the stars spread across the beautiful night sky. Footsteps behind him caught his attention, but the sound of the heartbeat told him who it was immediately… and his own heartbeat started skipping. "Hey Lois."

She looked up at his back. He hadn't even turned to look but he knew it was her. That was always kind of weird. "Hey Smallville, is your mom around?"

He turned and sat on the sill of the window. "Nope. She went out with dad. They're trying to make time for just each other since things have been crazy the last few months."

She nodded, then sighed. "Oh well, I guess I'll just hang onto these then. Budget projections for your dad's first quarter on the projects they wanted me to look into."

"Well, I can take them and give them to my folks when they get home in a couple days."

Lois raised her brow. "Yea, forgive me if I don't want my hard work disappearing under a pile on that desk or lost in your truck there Smallville, I'll just hand them over later. I also meant to ask you, have you talked to Chloe lately?"

He shook his head. "No I haven't, not since yesterday. Next time I talk to her, I'll tell her you were looking for her though."

She waved it off. "Don't bother, I can get a hold of her quicker." She moved the file under her arm and took a sip of her coffee.

Clark sighed and stood up, walking toward her. "Lois, I'm serious, I can put the file in my parent's room and I'll make sure they get it when they get home."

She turned toward him. "Look Smallville, I'll just…" Neither were really paying attention and her coffee splashed all over the front of Clark's white t-shirt. "Well crap." She finally sat the folder down. "I don't need your mom thinking I just splashed and dashed on you, let me have the shirt. If anyone knows how to get coffee out of every type of fabric, it's me. Let's go Smallville." She started pulling up at the hem of his shirt.

Clark stepped back. "Look, I can take care of my own laundry Lois."

"Clark, just give me the shirt, don't be a baby about this. I'll even turn away so you won't feel so self conscious."

Clark stared at her. His jaw twitched and his nostrils flared. "Lois. Drop it."

She sighed. "Clark, I don't have time for this, just give me the shirt so I can figure out what to do with this file and can try to find Chloe."

"THAT'S IT!"

Lois stepped back. Clark was staring at her. "I am perfectly capable of holding onto a file for my parents Lois. And I am perfectly capable of passing a message along to Chloe. And I am capable of doing my own… damn… laundry." He stumbled over his last words, busy pulling the t-shirt off and tossing it onto the sofa.

Lois stared at him, seeing a side of Clark she wasn't used to. She had only seen him angry once really, after Alicia was killed. And right now she was nervous to see him apparently that angry again.

"You know what Lois? I'm tired of being treated like some dumb hick just because you think I can't take care of things. Well news flash Lois, I can handle things just fine. Just because you're not always around when I manage to do something right, that doesn't mean it's never happened!" He paced the loft, heavy footsteps rumbling the wooden floor. "Everyday I keep asking myself how I could fall in love for someone as bossy, arrogant, rude and sure of herself as you, and you know what I figured out? Nothing. I have no idea how it happened, but it did!"

Lois just stared at him. She had fallen back onto the sofa, shocked at what he just said. "You… you what?"

"I said I have no idea exactly how I fell in love with you but I did. Not that it matters, because apparently I'm not good enough for the great and powerful Lois Lane."

She looked around the loft, shaking her head and trying to make sense of it. "Wait… why would you even say that? We do nothing but argue, you don't even like me. How could you 'love' someone like me Clark?"

He stared at her, shock written on his face. "Lois… despite your attitude and shortcomings as I mentioned above, you're an amazing woman. You're strong, caring, and intense. When you decide someone's worth it, you love them fiercely and without reserve. I've seen it with my parents, and with Chloe. And even with these idiots you go out with. You give everything you have, all of yourself to these guys, and they don't deserve it. They don't see how amazing you are. And they always screw up." He scoffed, smiling humorlessly. "But I guess that I'm the only one who doesn't even deserve the chance." He shrugged and walked over to pick up his shirt, heading for the stairs out of the loft.

"Hold on Smallville!"

He turned around from the second step, seeing that she'd finally made it to her feet. "You… you think you can just drop that load of bull on me and walk out? Is this funny to you, just deciding to start screwing with my head, throwing all my failed relationships at me?"

"No Lois, I'm not 'screwing' with you." He cursed himself for the mental images that brought up.

She stepped up to him, jabbing her finger in his chest. "I'm not Lana, Clark. I'm not some happy little pixie that looks forward to keeping your house clean and your dinner warm. I'm not the kind of girl you've gone for, so don't insult my intelligence!"

Clark stepped back up the stairs, backing her up with each step he took forward. "I know you're not Lois. I know exactly what kind of woman you are. Have you even stopped to think that maybe that's why I'm not with Lana anymore? Maybe that's why I don't want that type of woman? Maybe, just maybe I finally realized exactly who I was looking for. And that's you."

He took a deep breath. "And if you don't feel the same way, I can't do anything about that. If you don't want me as much as I want you, I can't change that. But there are some things that are going to change Lois. I'm not just gonna stand back and take the attitude anymore. I'm not a whipping boy for you to take out your frustrations on because some jerk hurt you, I haven't done anything to deserve that from you. I deserve at the very least basic, human respect, the same respect that I show you. Maybe I have been 'wishy washy' so far and that's why you think I'm a push-over, but that's done. And do you know how I know that those days are done with Lois?"

She stared back at him, eyes wide, and shook her head.

His lips curled into a soft smile as his hand slid up her neck, fingertips barely tickling the skin just below her hair. "Because I can do this now." He leaned in closer and kissed her deeply.

Lois' legs shook and she felt them giving out. Clark's arm slid around her back, holding her up. Her arms slid up to his and she felt his bicep under her hand. Her traitorous mind made sure she noticed how big and solid his arm was, how good it felt to be wrapped in his grip. She moaned softly, and her body turned traitor as well, returning the burning, fiery kiss.

Clark pulled away slowly, staring into her eyes. "So that's how things are now. That's it, all laid out on the line. I'm done doing the chasing. It's your turn Lois. The next step is all yours." He slowly released her and turned, heading back for the stairs. "You know where to find me," he tossed over his shoulder, not even looking back as he walked down the stairs.

She watched him walk away, and her legs finally gave out. She sank to her butt on the floor, her hand coming up to touch her lips. Did all of this just happen? How could… did Clark really just step up like that?

Through all of the confusion, one thought burned through her mind that scared her even more than all of those.

"_I shouldn't have enjoyed that nearly as much as I did."_

--

The next few days everyone around the farm noticed a difference. Lois was still helping Jonathan out through the beginning of his Senatorial position, so she spent most of her time at the farm.

Clark seemed much more care free these days. Some would chalk it up to being done with classes for the summer, but Jonathan and Martha knew there was something else to it. The entire atmosphere of the house had changed. Lois seemed much more uptight and quiet lately, but Clark was always smiling. Jonathan started to wonder if he had gotten a hold of some new form of Kryptonite when he caught his son whistling "Hi Ho It's Off to Work We Go" while he walked out to the barn one morning just before dawn.

Lois was meeting with the two elder Kents about a fundraiser for one of the charities they were putting their backing behind when Clark walked inside to get a drink. It was mid afternoon and the sun was scorching, but he was all smiles.

"Well, someone is in a good mood," Martha couldn't resist teasing her son.

"And why not? It's a gorgeous day mom." He walked over and sat the glass of lemonade down, pulling his mother to her feet and dancing around the kitchen table with her.

Jonathan just chuckled while Lois stared, shocked at this new side of Clark. How was he acting so care-free after all that he dropped on her not long ago?

Clark let Martha go and looked over to Lois. "How about you Lois? Care for a dance?" He gave her that famous Kent grin and she had to shake herself out of a daze.

She looked back at the papers in front of her. "Trying to work here Smallville, can't you see that?"

The next thing she knew she was back in his arms as he moved freely around the living room. He spun her out to arm's length and then pulled her back, finishing in a low dip, their noses almost touching they were so close. "All work and no play makes for a dull day." His words were almost whispered against her lips and she thought he was going to kiss her again right there, but he stood her back up and winked. "Keep that in mind Lois."

And with that, he was gone.

Lois didn't know how long she just stared, but she finally snapped out of it when Jonathan said he was taking Martha for a drive out on the property to take in the beautiful day.

After they left, Lois tried to go through the rest of the file but her attention kept wandering. Frustrated, she threw her pencil across the room and stomped out of the house for the barn.

She saw his boots sticking out from under the tractor. "Hey, get out here, now!"

Clark pulled himself out from under the tractor, grease staining his t-shirt. "Everything ok Lois?"

"No! No it's not ok Clark! You… you messed everything up. Do you realize that? Do you know how easy it was to just let things stay the way they were? To just keep being snarky, and annoying, and bossy, and for you to stand there and take it? That worked, that was working! Why did you have to mess that up between us?!"

He stood up. "Because it wasn't working for me. And the fact that you're reacting like this tells me it wasn't working for you either Lois."

"NO! It was working for me. Everyone else was changing, and doing their own thing, and branching out. And maybe I had to do that here and there to keep up, but you were constant Clark! I could always come out here to the farm and see my good old reliable, dependable farmboy. But now, you had to mess that up too! Why?"

Clark just smiled. "**_Your_** farmboy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't make that into something it isn't."

He stepped closer to her. "Lois, answer me one thing honestly, ok?"

She huffed, crossing her arms. "Fine."

"Are you so scared of this because you're worried that if it didn't work out, you and I wouldn't be friends anymore?"

Her lip trembled, but she covered up for it quickly. "We're not friends Clark. I put up with you, and you put up with me, that's all."

He smiled. "Then why do you start breathing harder when I get this close?"

She held her breath, trying to talk. "I don't you're imagining things."

He leaned closer, whispering in her ear. "It happens to me too Lois. Whenever you're close."

He heard her breath catch. He didn't stop. "So quit stalling. Quit being scared. Like I said, if you just don't want to be with me, fine. But stop hiding. Stop holding back. I'm not going back to the way things used to be. I love you, and I'm not going to take it back. So like I said, it's your turn Lois. Make a choice." He brushed a soft, barely there kiss over her lips and turned back to the tractor.

She didn't even realize she was moving. Grabbing his arm, Lois spun him back towards her and then she dove into his arms, kissing him ferociously. Her fingers buried in his dark hair, pouring every emotion he had pulled out of her into that kiss.

Clark had to grab the tractor behind him to keep from falling, but he didn't let her go. Holding Lois tightly, he returned the kiss, smiling against her lips at finally getting the reaction he had been hoping for deep down.

She finally had to break for air after a long time, staring into his deep blue eyes. "You play dirty, you know that Smallville?"

He could only smile. "I learned from the best."

--

Martha and Jonathan stood near the door of the barn, watching the two young people who were apparently too busy to notice they weren't alone anymore. Jonathan smiled and took his wife's hand, leading her toward the house. "Come on, let's give them some privacy."

Martha smiled. "So what do you suppose changed so quickly?"

Jonathan grinned. "Martha, you above all should know that a big city girl is helpless against the Kent Charm."

She shook her head, patting his stomach as she walked along with him. "We just let you think that sweety."

"You saw Lois. She didn't know what hit her the last few days after Clark suddenly changed. You can't say that Clark didn't take her by surprise."

She sighed. "I guess you're right. It's just good to see that they both finally woke up."

Walking into the house, Jonathan looked around. "You know… they looked pretty preoccupied. We have the place to ourselves right now."

Martha rolled her eyes. "Jonathan, you know at your age you need to take it slow. I don't want you stressing yourself out too much with all the senate priorities and such. You don't have to prove anything to me sweety, but it's sweet to try." She kissed his cheek and headed towards the table.

"Try? Try?!" He reached out and picked his wife up in his arms, heading for the stairs. "I'll show you 'try'. Tell me to watch it at my age."

Martha smiled as he carried her up the stairs, shaking her head just slightly. "Almost too easy."


End file.
